Dr. Hilton Hudson is chief of Cardio-thoracic Surgery for
Franciscan Physician's Hospital. he is also the founder of Hilton
Publishing, which began in 1996 as the only national publishing
house dedicated to minority health and wellness but now serves all
communities.

Dr. Hilton Hudson is chief of Cardio-thoracic Surgery for
Franciscan Physician's Hospital. he is also the founder of Hilton
Publishing, which began in 1996 as the only national publishing
house dedicated to minority health and wellness but now serves all
communities.

Dr. Hilton M. Hudson II is one of less than 40 board-certified,
African-American interventional cardiologists practicing in this
country. There's an irony in this as heart disease impacts a
disproportionate number of African Americans.

Not content to just practice medicine, Hudson doubles as
president and CEO of Hilton Publishing Co., now known as HPC,
headquartered in Munster. He formed his company after a major
publisher rejected a book he had co-authored, "The Heart of the
Matter: The African American Guide to Heart Disease, Heart
Treatment and Heart Wellness." The reason: The book was written for
a minority population.

He became a publisher to ensure "those in medically vulnerable
and underserved communities had access to reliable, current and
culturally sensitive health information," says Hudson, chief of
Cardio-thoracic Surgery, Franciscan Physician's Hospital.

"Often times, many in these communities have a fear and mistrust
of the health care system," said Hudson, national ambassador of the
American Heart Association. "I wanted to create resources for them
that would alleviate their fears and allow them to be proactive and
take pride in taking better care of themselves. It is also very
important to me that our materials are written in a way that was
easy to understand and would allow the reader to work in
partnership with their health care provider to have an effective
dialogue that would exact change."

Hilton Publishing, founded in 1996, began as the only national
publishing house dedicated to minority health and wellness but now
serves all communities with its books such as "Diabetes in Black
America: Public Health and Clinical Solutions to a National
Crisis," "High Blood Pressure: The Black Man and Woman's Guide to
Living with Hypertension" and "The Heart of the Matter: Essential
Advice for a Healthy Heart from Renowned Surgeons and
Cardiologists." Offerings include weight-loss books, faith-based
health books and books written in Spanish. Hilton Publishing also
acquires media resources for hospitals across the nation

The company also offers custom publishing via its website at
www.hiltonpub.com. There's a section where people can write about
their health problems for advice.

Hudson, an Indiana native given a key to the city of
Indianapolis and recipient of the Governor's 2008 Indiana Black
Expo Award, also founded the Health Literacy Foundation as another
way of providing health information to those lacking ready
access.

The company relies on feedback from health care providers for
ideas on what to publish.

"They keep us informed of health care issues affecting their
respective communities, and they also provide us with relevant data
and information that help ensure that our materials are up-to-date
and timely," he says. "At the end of the day, our commitment is to
the communities we serve, which ultimately is the basis for all of
our publishing decisions."

Hudson said the company is working on a product to help decrease
hospital re-admissions. Hudson said the product will be just like
an iPad but with apps that measure medication, blood pressure and
heart rate." He also recently launched the
myhealthyweightandwellness.com website to help patients feel more
comfortable in their bodies.

Despite his role in the company, Hudson is still a full-time
heart surgeon, and has no plans of putting that hat away anytime
soon.

"I love it," he said. "It's a whole different part of my
personality."